Minister Hears Views From The Scottish Voluntary Sector

Jim Murphy, Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform, was at the SECC in Glasgow yesterday to hear the views of voluntary organisations on the future of welfare reform.

The Minister took part in ‘A conversation with Jim Murphy’, an event organised by the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO) before an invited audience. The organisations involved all have a strong interest in supporting the most disadvantaged people to enter the labour market.

The event aimed to provide an opportunity for delegates from a range of voluntary organisations in Scotland to hear about the progress of the Government’s plans for the future of Welfare to Work, and for them to provide a response. The main focus was the proposals contained in the Freud Report and to explore how the voluntary sector can best play the role that Freud suggests for it.

Jim Murphy said: “David Freud’s report, published on 5 March, set out a compelling framework for the next stage of welfare reform, which the Government is now carefully considering. A major feature of the report was an expansion of the role of the voluntary and private sectors in the provision of welfare, rewarding providers proportionate to the value to the taxpayer of getting people into work and helping them stay there.

“The Government has been inviting comments on the proposals in the Freud Report. Today is the last day for responses to the report, so I was pleased to accept SCVO’s invitation and to have the opportunity to hear first hand the views and concerns of voluntary organisations from across Scotland. The issues raised here today will certainly help to inform the debate.”